Action Items for Developers
Developers: Do you wish you could simultaneously lower your site infrastructure costs, protect the environment, and increase your project’s marketability?
All that is possible with the use of Low Impact Development (LID) techniques. LID is an ecologically friendly approach to site development and storm water management that aims to mitigate development impacts to land, water, and air. The approach emphasizes the integration of site design and planning techniques that conserve natural systems and hydrologic functions on a site.
LID has a variety of benefits to Builders, Municipalities, and the Environment such as:
- The reduction of land clearing and grading costs;
- Balancing the need for growth and environmental protection;
- The protection of local land and water resources.
So what can you do to make responsible decisions as a residential developer?
As you review designs for future development sites, add water quality to the list of issues you consider. You already evaluate the impacts of development on public safety, schools, traffic and flooding; why not water quality, too?
Reduce the immediate AND long-term environmental impacts of your developments:
- Prioritize erosion & soil control on construction sites. Implement Construction Best Management Practices – for example, use phasing on sites to disturb as little area as possible.
- Implement a comprehensive landscaping plan that uses trees and other natural materials for water absorption; for example, grassy swales can be a good addition to your plan by helping increase water absorption.
- Build up instead of out.
- Encourage communities you work in to provide incentives for using:
- Bioretention (rain gardens, grassy swales, wetlands, rooftop gardens) – can function as filters for water while reducing runoff by as much as 95%
- Permeable pavement – reduces runoff anywhere from 75-95%
- Low impact neighborhood and subdivision design
Resources:
First Things First: Considering Green Land Development – Article describing win-win opportunities for change—cost-saving methods of developing land that will allow the building industry to continue building affordable homes in a manner that is environmentally-friendly.
Environmentally Green... Economically Green: Tools for a Green Land Development Program – Guide intended for local-level practitioners who want to incorporate green land development practices into their work.
Low Impact Development (LID) Practices for Storm Water Management – Evaluation of LID implementation with respect to costs, benefits, ease of implementation, etc. from the developer’s/builder’s point of view.
NAHB Land Development Resources - Land Development materials and information assembled by the National Association of Home Builders.
Forest Friendly Development - Chesapeake Bay Watershed Case Studies. Highlights developments that have made forests and trees an integral part of the development plans. Includes examples of techniques used on each site to both create and preserve significant areas of trees and existing forest corridors.
Stormwater Resources for Real Estate Professionals – Website created by NC State containing links to information about BMP’s, permitting, and general stormwater information.
Map of Septic System Risk in the Rockymarsh Run watershed (taken from the Rockymarsh Run Baseline Report) - To determine the most effective areas (in terms of water quality improvement) for the implementation of septic system BMP’s, an index of septic system risk was developed. The index was calculated using building density weighted by building age, soil suitability, proximity to flowing water, and presence of floodplain.
Wastewater Resources for Developers: Click the links below to open the documents. These resources are also available on CD for a small fee from the National Environmental Services Center (call 800-624-8301 and ask for Products).
- Creative Community Design and Wastewater Management, Univ. of R.I. Ext., 2005
- Wastewater Planning Handbook: Mapping Onsite Treatment Needs, Pollution Risks, and Management Options Using GIS, Univ. of R.I. Ext., 2004
- Valuing Decentralized Wastewater Technologies, Rocky Mountain Institute, 2004.
- Cluster Wastewater System Planning Handbook, Lombardo and Associates, 2004
All land use has potential impacts on our water quality; we all have choices that can reduce those impacts. Your decisions can help ensure that the communities you create enjoy good water quality which will sustain a high quality of life for its inhabitants.